Analysing Lily Allen's previous work certainly inspired us whilst planning for our own music video for her single 'Everyones at it'.
LDN (Lily Allen) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmYT79tPvLg
The idea of Lucy walking through the streets was hugley influenced from the LDN video. We liked how it was such a simple narrative which clearly displayed a message but also looked great visually. We will be using similar types of shots such as mid shots and close ups whilst Lucy is singing the lyrics, long shots to show scenery and peoples behaviours in the background and extreme close ups to show details such as elements of Lucy's costume and certain props.
Tears DryOn Their Own (Amy Winehouse) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojdbDYahiCQ
In Amy's video she walks along a busy street during the day time. Although we our shooting our video for the streets at night time, so there won't be as many people, it can still be very influentual. For example, the behaviour of people passing by, such as; people bumping in to her and a drunken man trying to talk to her and she ignores him. But also elements that make it seem more natural/realistic; such as people in the background walking past eating or getting money out of a cash machine. An effect I like is the camera infront of her whilst she is walking forward, so you are able to see the background setting but also people walking the opposite way, which looks good visually as the pop upwards in to the frame.
Hit Me Baby One More Time (Britney Spears) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKo4fFVymqk
Our idea for the classroom scene at the start was based on the begginning of Brtiney psears' video for Hit Me Bbay One More Time. Britney is sat in class looking bored, eagerly waiting for lesson to end. We want Lucy to look bored in class at the start of our video, I liked elements of Britney's behaviour such as; tapping her foot on the chair, rolling her eyes, having her cheek rested on her hand to use for our video.
Blinded By The Lights (The Streets) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7MCbis75wk
In our video, we want to make it obvious that people are taking drugs and to also show the affects of drugs, however, we don't want to make images of drug taking to graphic as this would cause alot of complaints and be very unsuitable. Also, we don not want to 'glamourise' the negative behaviour and make it seem 'cool', so we must be very careful. There are features of the blinded by the lights video which show the effect of drugs in a suitable and more subtle way, for example; two men are seen sniffing and rubbing their noses whilst in laughter this conveys the idea that they have just snorted cocaine without actually showing them doing so. I also like the way they used quick close ups of lighting a cigarette and taking alcoholic shots and would like to use the same quick shots for our video.
Alfie: (Lily Allen)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RgOm_WJKpE
The camera work is very simple in this video yet shows all details effectiveley. I like the way the camera zooms in and out of Lily Allen, and would like to use the zoom technique in our music video, perhaps the scene where Lucy is singing against the brick wall. This video is evidence of how simple camera shots, if edited in time with the music can be simple but look visually great.
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Lily Allen - Alfie
The second Lily Allen music video I am going to analyse is 'Alfie' :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RgOm_WJKpE
Alfie reached number 15 in the UK charts in 2007 and was Lily's fourth single released from her debut album 'Alright Still'.
Like in the 'LDN' video Lily has one costume through out the music video. Lily wears a bright yellow head band, a simple white and blue floral dress with dark blue peep tow heels with red detail on. Lily keeps the jewellery simple and she is not wearing the trade mark earrings in this video, but she has gold bracelets on her wrists. Her make up is very similar to LDN, a gold neutral eye shadow with black eye liner above her eye, the eye liner is not as thick as it is in LDN which gives a more natural touch. Lily still has her thick full fringe, but her hair is down and straightened and appears very long, which could perhaps be extensions.
The song 'Alfie' is about Lily's younger brother Alfie Allen and how she worries about him sitting in his room all day watching TV and smoking weed. The narrative of the video is again very simple but through the use of colour and humorous aspects the video is very amusing to the audience. Alfie Allen is a very small puppet in the video, and his room is a tiny cupboard under the stairs. Lily is in the kitchen carrying out productive tasks such as ironing Alfie's small clothes, washing up and looking in the newspaper for a job for Alfie. She visits him in his room the first time to see if he would like a cup of tea, but he appears high on drugs so she takes his computer control away from him. The next time she goes to his room to give him the ironed suit but walks straight out when she find him mastrubating under the covers to 'barbie porn' which is a very funny scene in the video. There are many other humorous aspects of the video such as Alfie dancing at the end and mooning to the camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RgOm_WJKpE
Alfie reached number 15 in the UK charts in 2007 and was Lily's fourth single released from her debut album 'Alright Still'.
Like in the 'LDN' video Lily has one costume through out the music video. Lily wears a bright yellow head band, a simple white and blue floral dress with dark blue peep tow heels with red detail on. Lily keeps the jewellery simple and she is not wearing the trade mark earrings in this video, but she has gold bracelets on her wrists. Her make up is very similar to LDN, a gold neutral eye shadow with black eye liner above her eye, the eye liner is not as thick as it is in LDN which gives a more natural touch. Lily still has her thick full fringe, but her hair is down and straightened and appears very long, which could perhaps be extensions.
The song 'Alfie' is about Lily's younger brother Alfie Allen and how she worries about him sitting in his room all day watching TV and smoking weed. The narrative of the video is again very simple but through the use of colour and humorous aspects the video is very amusing to the audience. Alfie Allen is a very small puppet in the video, and his room is a tiny cupboard under the stairs. Lily is in the kitchen carrying out productive tasks such as ironing Alfie's small clothes, washing up and looking in the newspaper for a job for Alfie. She visits him in his room the first time to see if he would like a cup of tea, but he appears high on drugs so she takes his computer control away from him. The next time she goes to his room to give him the ironed suit but walks straight out when she find him mastrubating under the covers to 'barbie porn' which is a very funny scene in the video. There are many other humorous aspects of the video such as Alfie dancing at the end and mooning to the camera.
The use of colour is also a key element of the video, like the LDN video, bright colours are seen through out the Alfie music video. In the kitchen, the walls are bright blue, the kitchen utensils are red and orange and the hall way outside Alfie's room is lime green. However, Alfies room has darker colours to create a contrasted effect, due to the darkness and hazey smokiness of his bedroom. In the LDN video, red was the dominant colour. In the Alfie video, less red is used, but the red details stand out strongly against the green, blues and yellow drawing great attention to it. Alfie's hooded top is red and although he is very small in size, sue to wearing that colour he stands out immediately in the frame. Other details in red include; the kitchen utensils, the pen Lily uses to circle the jobs and the kitchen table cloth.
The Alfie video also uses simple camera shots and movements. The camera zooms in and out of Lily whilst she is in the kitchen, which is different to the LDN video, as in that video the camera was still whilst Lily made big movements, compared to the Alfie video that zooms in and out of Lily whilst she is barley moving. Extreme close ups are used to show detail such as; Lily stirring the tea, Lily knocking on Alfie's bedroom door and Alfie's facial expressions. Many long shots are used to show the whole of the scenery in the frame and interaction between Lily and Alfie in one frame.
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Lily Allen - LDN
The first Lily Allen video I have chosen to analyse is 'LDN'...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmYT79tPvLg
LDN reached number 6 in the UK charts IN 2006 and was her second single released from her debut album 'Alright still.' Therefore, Lily Allen was a fresh face to the alternative music scene, which is why the music video made such a big impression, particularly in terms of Lily's image.
In LDN Lily Allen has one costume through out the video, she wears a long red prom style dress with white and red Nike trainers. Teaming a dress and trainers was a very unique style choice which created an instant identity, Lily Allen will always be associated with this particular look a sit was so original. Lily wears her hair in a messy bun with a thick full fringe, the trend for fringes soon became popular again after Lily hit the music scene. A trade mark of Lily Allen's appearance is her big gold chunky jewellery. In LDN Lily wears large gold hoop earrings and gold chains around her neck, this look is typically associated with 'Chavs'. But girls across the country went crazy for Lily Allen's unique accessory choices which still remain popular in the high street
The narative of the video is very simple yet still very visually effective. Lily walks out of a record store and continues through the streets of London, she has a skip in her step, her head held high and a big smile on her face which contrasts with the music lyrics- which are about the negative behaviour that goes on in the streets of London, such as; mugging, prostitution, violence and drug abuse to name a few. All this is shown in the video by actors in the background, however, Lily views all this through a positive perspective and this is particularly conveyed through the use of colour. For example, a long shot is used to show Lily walk from one side of the screen to the other, in front of her as she walks are very bright colours, such as a house which is bright green with yellow cutains which has elegant flower pots and a white picket fence out side, which stands next to a red telephone box. A female is seen looking down from the top window of the house and appears to be getting serranaded by a male who is looking up at her adoringly. But as Lily reaches the other side of the screen, the colours behind her change to dull greys and the female is dramatically chucking clothes out of the window to the male in the street who is in his boxers holding a bin liner of belongings. Colour is a very important factor to any music video and that is clearly displayed in LDN as it defrenciates between Lily's posative perspective and the realistic negative one. Although there are many bright colours used to show the positivity, the most dominant colour is red. Lily wears a long red dress and the fact that she is in nearly every scene makes that colour stand out the most. Also various props are red or have some detail of red which makes the colour more symbolic in the video.
Although simple shot types and camera movements are used for the video, the editing techniques make the simple shots look visually effective. Close ups and mid shots are used to show Lily Allen's facial expressions as she sings the lyrics to the song, long shots are used to show Lily's body movemements aswell as the background scenery extreme close up cut ins are used to show Lily's feet skipping along the streets and cut out extreme close ups are used to show objects on the street floor change as Lily walks past them, e.g: a red sweet turns in to a cigarette but and a pen turns in to a needle for drug use. The camera movement is very smoothe and very still which emphasises Lily's movements. A wipe transition is used across the screen to show the change in perspective and colours.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmYT79tPvLg
LDN reached number 6 in the UK charts IN 2006 and was her second single released from her debut album 'Alright still.' Therefore, Lily Allen was a fresh face to the alternative music scene, which is why the music video made such a big impression, particularly in terms of Lily's image.
In LDN Lily Allen has one costume through out the video, she wears a long red prom style dress with white and red Nike trainers. Teaming a dress and trainers was a very unique style choice which created an instant identity, Lily Allen will always be associated with this particular look a sit was so original. Lily wears her hair in a messy bun with a thick full fringe, the trend for fringes soon became popular again after Lily hit the music scene. A trade mark of Lily Allen's appearance is her big gold chunky jewellery. In LDN Lily wears large gold hoop earrings and gold chains around her neck, this look is typically associated with 'Chavs'. But girls across the country went crazy for Lily Allen's unique accessory choices which still remain popular in the high street
The narative of the video is very simple yet still very visually effective. Lily walks out of a record store and continues through the streets of London, she has a skip in her step, her head held high and a big smile on her face which contrasts with the music lyrics- which are about the negative behaviour that goes on in the streets of London, such as; mugging, prostitution, violence and drug abuse to name a few. All this is shown in the video by actors in the background, however, Lily views all this through a positive perspective and this is particularly conveyed through the use of colour. For example, a long shot is used to show Lily walk from one side of the screen to the other, in front of her as she walks are very bright colours, such as a house which is bright green with yellow cutains which has elegant flower pots and a white picket fence out side, which stands next to a red telephone box. A female is seen looking down from the top window of the house and appears to be getting serranaded by a male who is looking up at her adoringly. But as Lily reaches the other side of the screen, the colours behind her change to dull greys and the female is dramatically chucking clothes out of the window to the male in the street who is in his boxers holding a bin liner of belongings. Colour is a very important factor to any music video and that is clearly displayed in LDN as it defrenciates between Lily's posative perspective and the realistic negative one. Although there are many bright colours used to show the positivity, the most dominant colour is red. Lily wears a long red dress and the fact that she is in nearly every scene makes that colour stand out the most. Also various props are red or have some detail of red which makes the colour more symbolic in the video.
Although simple shot types and camera movements are used for the video, the editing techniques make the simple shots look visually effective. Close ups and mid shots are used to show Lily Allen's facial expressions as she sings the lyrics to the song, long shots are used to show Lily's body movemements aswell as the background scenery extreme close up cut ins are used to show Lily's feet skipping along the streets and cut out extreme close ups are used to show objects on the street floor change as Lily walks past them, e.g: a red sweet turns in to a cigarette but and a pen turns in to a needle for drug use. The camera movement is very smoothe and very still which emphasises Lily's movements. A wipe transition is used across the screen to show the change in perspective and colours.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Promo pack
A key element of our coursework is creating a promotional pack. A promo pack consists of the music video, an advertisement and a digipak. The advertisement is advertising the release of the single being used in our music video and should include the title of song, artist and release date. A digipak is a design of the covers for the DVD, which will include the single and the music video. I will be planning and evaluating my designs before producing the final designs, which I will be creating using Photoshop. I feel very confident about this task as I have had experience with this programme from the magazine coursework task last year in media.
It is vital that the digipak and advertisement are very similar and stick to the theme of the music video, so that there is a consistent theme in terms of the mise en scene of the promotion pack as a whole. For example, this is evident in the following two digipak's:
Above is the Kanye West digi pack for his DVD 'Late Registration'. Although Kanye West is in a different genre to Lily Allen, is cover work is always unique, which I think is important when designing my own. Both the front and the back cover contain the same photographic image, which gives a professional effect. The bear mascot seen crossing the road is a constant icon used in all of Kanye West's cd covers, but in different forms. Therefore I am going to look at some of Lily Allen's previous cd covers to see if there is any constant theme, before designing my own. The title 'Kanye West Late Registration' is seen at the bottom right of the cover on the side, it stands out from the rest of the image as it is on a clear background underneath a busy looking part of the image. In the middle of the cover, is the part of the DVD box which will be seen when placed on the shelf, therefore it is important that the title is clear. The title is in the same font as before, keeping the same font looks professional and can establish it's own identity. On the back cover is the list of tracks that are featured on the DVD, the text colour is white, which looks effective and clear against the black taxi cab image. Sub titles are in yellow which also stands out clearly against the black, but are also in a slightly bigger font to show division. The DVD has a sub title of 'Abbey Road Sessions' in the bottom left hand corner, as this is an extra detail, the text size is not as big as the title, but remains in the colour back, so it is clear and easy to read. In the photograph, along side the bear mascot, is a road sign on a brick wall which says 'Abbey Road' as if the bear mascot has just left the Abbey Road studio. The sign is in white with red writing so it stand out against the brick wall, it has connections to the DVD but it is in a subtle and interesting way.
Above is the DVD cover for Madonna's 'Music', Madonna is a popular female artist like Lily Allen of a smiliar music genre. A 'Cow Boy and Western' theme is kept constant through out the promotion pack. On the front cover, Madonna is wearing the same costume that she wears in the music video, so fans will instantly recognise this. Madonna is posed and laying on haye which is also associated with that theme. The font used for the titles are in a Western style also, so for my Lily Allen DVD cover I will need to find an appropriate font which represents the modern and funky style and sound of Lily Allen and her single. The part of the title 'Madonna' is in pink, which is the same colour as the hat so there are connections in terms of colour. The middle part of the DVD is in rainbow colours, which will immediately grab attention whilst on a shelf, but also keeps the colour theme that appears under the title. I like the look of the bright colours together as it immediately draws attention, so I will keep this in mind when designing my own DVD cover. On the back of the cover, is a different image to the front cover but the theme is kept constant, there is haye in the background with Madonna's hat on it. Underneath the hat as is the track listings, the font is rather small in a pale pink colour which stick to the colour theme of pink which is frequently featured. Other extra details on the DVD cover include; bar code, DVD, parental advisory and the makes of the record labels and producing studios. I must remember to include these extra details when planning my own DVD cover.
It is vital that the digipak and advertisement are very similar and stick to the theme of the music video, so that there is a consistent theme in terms of the mise en scene of the promotion pack as a whole. For example, this is evident in the following two digipak's:
Above is the Kanye West digi pack for his DVD 'Late Registration'. Although Kanye West is in a different genre to Lily Allen, is cover work is always unique, which I think is important when designing my own. Both the front and the back cover contain the same photographic image, which gives a professional effect. The bear mascot seen crossing the road is a constant icon used in all of Kanye West's cd covers, but in different forms. Therefore I am going to look at some of Lily Allen's previous cd covers to see if there is any constant theme, before designing my own. The title 'Kanye West Late Registration' is seen at the bottom right of the cover on the side, it stands out from the rest of the image as it is on a clear background underneath a busy looking part of the image. In the middle of the cover, is the part of the DVD box which will be seen when placed on the shelf, therefore it is important that the title is clear. The title is in the same font as before, keeping the same font looks professional and can establish it's own identity. On the back cover is the list of tracks that are featured on the DVD, the text colour is white, which looks effective and clear against the black taxi cab image. Sub titles are in yellow which also stands out clearly against the black, but are also in a slightly bigger font to show division. The DVD has a sub title of 'Abbey Road Sessions' in the bottom left hand corner, as this is an extra detail, the text size is not as big as the title, but remains in the colour back, so it is clear and easy to read. In the photograph, along side the bear mascot, is a road sign on a brick wall which says 'Abbey Road' as if the bear mascot has just left the Abbey Road studio. The sign is in white with red writing so it stand out against the brick wall, it has connections to the DVD but it is in a subtle and interesting way.
Above is the DVD cover for Madonna's 'Music', Madonna is a popular female artist like Lily Allen of a smiliar music genre. A 'Cow Boy and Western' theme is kept constant through out the promotion pack. On the front cover, Madonna is wearing the same costume that she wears in the music video, so fans will instantly recognise this. Madonna is posed and laying on haye which is also associated with that theme. The font used for the titles are in a Western style also, so for my Lily Allen DVD cover I will need to find an appropriate font which represents the modern and funky style and sound of Lily Allen and her single. The part of the title 'Madonna' is in pink, which is the same colour as the hat so there are connections in terms of colour. The middle part of the DVD is in rainbow colours, which will immediately grab attention whilst on a shelf, but also keeps the colour theme that appears under the title. I like the look of the bright colours together as it immediately draws attention, so I will keep this in mind when designing my own DVD cover. On the back of the cover, is a different image to the front cover but the theme is kept constant, there is haye in the background with Madonna's hat on it. Underneath the hat as is the track listings, the font is rather small in a pale pink colour which stick to the colour theme of pink which is frequently featured. Other extra details on the DVD cover include; bar code, DVD, parental advisory and the makes of the record labels and producing studios. I must remember to include these extra details when planning my own DVD cover.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Mise en scene
I am going to share the ideas we have so far with regards to mise en scene.
Costume and makeup:
In terms of costume we have the idea that Lucy could wear vibrant colours, as this stereotypically fits with the upbeat nature of the song. Lucy is going to have a few costume changes during the video; In the class room scene Lucy and her fellow class mates will be wearing a traditional school uniform, consisting of white shirts, a tie, black skirt/trousers and black shoes. However, Lucy's look will be slightly altered with her tie loose, shirt buttons undone and long socks on giving a subtle hint of rebellion which will make her stand out slightly amongst the other students in her class. The teacher in the scene will be wearing something smart, perhaps a suit to give a professional look.
In the scenes on the street, we want Lucy to look fashionable and up to date with the trends. Although we like the use of colour from Lily Allen's earlier work, we wanted to go for her latest look which is darker colours but with sparkle and shine. This may also fit with an older teen audience which we are trying to aim our video for. Our final costume choice for Lucy in the street scenes is black wet look leggins, black heels, a silver sequined structured top with bright pink chunky bangles. In terms of hair and make up; Lucy's hair is going to be styled straight in to a bob, with a thick full fringe like Lily's, back combing the sides to puff it up and give her look some edge. Recent pictures of Lily show her sticking to her usual thick black eyeliner around the eyes, but with bright pink lips, this ha inspired us to use the same look for our video. Lucy's general image in this scene is to look as if she is going out to a party and her look will contrast with the ones who are walking around aimlessly, taking drugs etc; they will be wearing dark colours and hoodies and baggy clothing to give a hint of mystery and rebellion.
As you can see, in the photos below; The first two photos are of Lily's updated image, the make up is what inspired us for Lucy's make up. In the second photo is Lily Allen's newer dress style, as you can see she dresses darker colours with bright accessories. The second two photos are of Lily's old image.
Props:
Classroom scene: We have chosen a classroom in college, that will be available for us for filming. Choosing appropriate props is an essential part of creating the right atmosphere we need for the scene. We will be moving the tables and chairs, so that there is one student at each desk, the desks will be in rows. The desks need to be set out so that the white board is at the front of the class, we will be using red marker pens to write on the white board, so that it stands out clearly for the audience to read. The white board will feature the date, a few of the students names and an anti drugs message written clearly, so the viewer instantly knows the topic of discussion in class. There will be pieces of work displayed on the walls and posters, a clock on the wall behind the students and pens and paper on students desks.
The streets scene: For the scenes with Lucy walking along the streets at night, some of the people passing buy will have props. For example; a lighter and a cigarette and bottles/cans of alcohol. On the streets, chewing gum on the floor and cigarettes, extreme close up shots will be used on these added props to highlight the gritty, urban atmosphere.
Politicians scene: For the repeated lyric of 'From grown politicians to young adolescents' we will be using a few people to act as politicians and props include a documented script that one of them will be using as they read their speech looking in to the camera.
Doctors scene: For the lyrics of 'you go to the doctor and you need pills for sleeping if you can convince him then I guess that’s not cheating see you’re daughters depressed, so get her straight on the Prozac but little do you know that she already takes crack.' For part of these we're going to have an extreme close up shot of the doctor giving a pill packet to the daughter, who takes it in her hand.
Colour:
In terms of colour, in the class room scene, the general colour scheme will be quite dull. The uniform is black, white and grey, the general colour schemes of the class room are black, white, grey and beige... which compliments Lucy's mood of being bored and uninterested. However the writing on the board will be in red ink to emphasise the point being made in the video.
We are filming the streets scenes at night time to ensure darkness, but we will be using lighting techniques to create the perfect lighting we needed on Lucy, as she will be wearing bright vibrant colours that contrast to the rest of her surroundings.
Costume and makeup:
In terms of costume we have the idea that Lucy could wear vibrant colours, as this stereotypically fits with the upbeat nature of the song. Lucy is going to have a few costume changes during the video; In the class room scene Lucy and her fellow class mates will be wearing a traditional school uniform, consisting of white shirts, a tie, black skirt/trousers and black shoes. However, Lucy's look will be slightly altered with her tie loose, shirt buttons undone and long socks on giving a subtle hint of rebellion which will make her stand out slightly amongst the other students in her class. The teacher in the scene will be wearing something smart, perhaps a suit to give a professional look.
In the scenes on the street, we want Lucy to look fashionable and up to date with the trends. Although we like the use of colour from Lily Allen's earlier work, we wanted to go for her latest look which is darker colours but with sparkle and shine. This may also fit with an older teen audience which we are trying to aim our video for. Our final costume choice for Lucy in the street scenes is black wet look leggins, black heels, a silver sequined structured top with bright pink chunky bangles. In terms of hair and make up; Lucy's hair is going to be styled straight in to a bob, with a thick full fringe like Lily's, back combing the sides to puff it up and give her look some edge. Recent pictures of Lily show her sticking to her usual thick black eyeliner around the eyes, but with bright pink lips, this ha inspired us to use the same look for our video. Lucy's general image in this scene is to look as if she is going out to a party and her look will contrast with the ones who are walking around aimlessly, taking drugs etc; they will be wearing dark colours and hoodies and baggy clothing to give a hint of mystery and rebellion.
As you can see, in the photos below; The first two photos are of Lily's updated image, the make up is what inspired us for Lucy's make up. In the second photo is Lily Allen's newer dress style, as you can see she dresses darker colours with bright accessories. The second two photos are of Lily's old image.
Location:
The location chosen for the scene on the street will be in Lewes. Lewes has a variety of little alley ways and cobbly streets, which will achieve the edgy and urban atmosphere. Enclosed are some photographs or locations we thought would be appropriate... We are going to use a class room in our college for the school scene, as we will have permission from a teacher to have time in their to film and make changes to the room to ensure the desired look.The images below are of Lewes town, Lewes is where our college is, therefore it will be appropriate for filming due to the convenience. This location will be great for the street scenes.
Props:
Classroom scene: We have chosen a classroom in college, that will be available for us for filming. Choosing appropriate props is an essential part of creating the right atmosphere we need for the scene. We will be moving the tables and chairs, so that there is one student at each desk, the desks will be in rows. The desks need to be set out so that the white board is at the front of the class, we will be using red marker pens to write on the white board, so that it stands out clearly for the audience to read. The white board will feature the date, a few of the students names and an anti drugs message written clearly, so the viewer instantly knows the topic of discussion in class. There will be pieces of work displayed on the walls and posters, a clock on the wall behind the students and pens and paper on students desks.
The streets scene: For the scenes with Lucy walking along the streets at night, some of the people passing buy will have props. For example; a lighter and a cigarette and bottles/cans of alcohol. On the streets, chewing gum on the floor and cigarettes, extreme close up shots will be used on these added props to highlight the gritty, urban atmosphere.
Politicians scene: For the repeated lyric of 'From grown politicians to young adolescents' we will be using a few people to act as politicians and props include a documented script that one of them will be using as they read their speech looking in to the camera.
Doctors scene: For the lyrics of 'you go to the doctor and you need pills for sleeping if you can convince him then I guess that’s not cheating see you’re daughters depressed, so get her straight on the Prozac but little do you know that she already takes crack.' For part of these we're going to have an extreme close up shot of the doctor giving a pill packet to the daughter, who takes it in her hand.
Colour:
In terms of colour, in the class room scene, the general colour scheme will be quite dull. The uniform is black, white and grey, the general colour schemes of the class room are black, white, grey and beige... which compliments Lucy's mood of being bored and uninterested. However the writing on the board will be in red ink to emphasise the point being made in the video.
We are filming the streets scenes at night time to ensure darkness, but we will be using lighting techniques to create the perfect lighting we needed on Lucy, as she will be wearing bright vibrant colours that contrast to the rest of her surroundings.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Ideas so far for music video...
After choosing our song 'Everyones at it' by Lily Allen. We examined the lyrics and highlighted key phrases. This immediately inspired us with some basic ideas that we could later change or expand on, the most vivid imagery we got whilst analysing the lyrics was 'teenagers' and the peer pressure of drugs. One idea we had was a house party, which is obviously a stereotypical situation for drug use. Lucy has agreed to the star as the main singer of the video and we had an idea that she could walk around the house party as if she was invisible seeing herself and her friends in a drunken state and in the house party typical behaviour would be seen such as drinking, loud music, violence, one night stands and drug use.
Another idea we had was based in the location of a year 11 class room and Lucy would be sitting at that back of class listening to a lecture on anti drug use and the affects of drugs. After discussing this idea further we thought it would be a good idea to use this concept as an introduction to the music video which could then merge in to another scene, for example the house party idea. Which would portray Lucy reflecting her life now and the impact of drugs on her and her friends lives.
Another idea for a location is a street at night time, perhaps an alley way, to create a grimy urban atmosphere which sticks with the theme. Lucy would be walking down the alley way singing the lyrics, with people walking past/ in the background.
We decided to neglect the house party idea mainly due to lack of control. It would be hard to control a big group of teenagers to naturally act drunk/high therefore we decided to expand on other concepts. Organisation of the event and filming with technical expensive equipment in such a situation are also issues.
After seeking more inspiration we really like the idea of Lucy walking along the streets. We will be staging other people in the streets to act in certain ways, for example; a couple kissing against a wall, people on the floor, people stumbling and laughing etc.
We are still going to start the video with the class room scene merging in to Lucy on the streets. When Lucy listens to the anti drug lecture at the start of the video she appears to look bored and uninterested, we had the idea that the video returns to this scene at the end showing Lucy sitting alone deep in thought whilst her fellow class mates are leaving the room and talking, this is showing that Lucy has really thought about the topic.
Another idea we had was based in the location of a year 11 class room and Lucy would be sitting at that back of class listening to a lecture on anti drug use and the affects of drugs. After discussing this idea further we thought it would be a good idea to use this concept as an introduction to the music video which could then merge in to another scene, for example the house party idea. Which would portray Lucy reflecting her life now and the impact of drugs on her and her friends lives.
Another idea for a location is a street at night time, perhaps an alley way, to create a grimy urban atmosphere which sticks with the theme. Lucy would be walking down the alley way singing the lyrics, with people walking past/ in the background.
We decided to neglect the house party idea mainly due to lack of control. It would be hard to control a big group of teenagers to naturally act drunk/high therefore we decided to expand on other concepts. Organisation of the event and filming with technical expensive equipment in such a situation are also issues.
After seeking more inspiration we really like the idea of Lucy walking along the streets. We will be staging other people in the streets to act in certain ways, for example; a couple kissing against a wall, people on the floor, people stumbling and laughing etc.
We are still going to start the video with the class room scene merging in to Lucy on the streets. When Lucy listens to the anti drug lecture at the start of the video she appears to look bored and uninterested, we had the idea that the video returns to this scene at the end showing Lucy sitting alone deep in thought whilst her fellow class mates are leaving the room and talking, this is showing that Lucy has really thought about the topic.
Song choice for music video...
Our chosen song for the music video project is 'Everyone's at it' by Lily Allen. Before we came to that particular final song choice we chose a specific genre we all liked, we chose 'indie' and thought about some artists we could choose, for example; Friendly Fires, Kings Of Leon and The Killers. But it was hard to find a song that we liked without an existing music video. We also decided against using male artists, as choosing a female artist meant that we could use a member of our group to star in the video and we decided that this would be a better idea to ensure reliability. We are all Lily Allen fans and thought of a few songs from her latest album, but decided to choose 'Everyones at it' as it a very catchy and upbeat track with clever lyrics that tackle the subject of drugs and being teenagers ourselves we know of the peer pressure and affects that drugs have on the nation and we thought it would be a really good idea to communicate the message of the lyrics through our music video.
The lyrics to 'Everyone's at it' :
I don’t know much but I know this for curtain
And that is the sun poking its head round the curtain
Now please can we leave?
I’d like to go to bed now
It’s not just the sun that is hurting my head now
I’m not trying to say that I’m smelling of roses
But when will we tire of putting shit up our noses
I don’t like staying up, staying up past the sunlight
It’s meant to be fun and it just doesn’t feel right
(Chorus)Why can’t we all, all just be honest?
Admit to ourselves that everyone’s on it
From grown politicians to young adolescence
Prescribing themselves anti depressants
Now how can we start to tackle the problem?
If you don’t put your hands up and admit that your on it
Now the kids are in danger, they’re all getting hammered
From what I can see everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
I get involved but I’m not advocating
got an opinion, yea your well off the slating
so you’ve got a prescription, yea that makes it legal
finding excuses, is well over whelming with people
you go to the doctor and you need pills for sleeping
if you can convince him then I guess that’s not cheating
see you’re daughters depressed, so get her straight on the Prozac
but little do you know that she already takes crack
(Chorus X2)
Why can’t we all, all just be honest?
Admit to ourselves that everyone’s on it
From grown politicians to young adolescence
Prescribing themselves anti depressants
Now how can we start to tackle the problem?
If you don’t put your hands up and admit that you’re on it
Now the kids are in danger, they’re all getting hammered
From what I can see everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
As a group, we discussed our reactions in response to the lyrics, this started to get us thinking about imagery and plot ideas for the music video. We created a brain storm of ideas, which can be seen below...
The lyrics to 'Everyone's at it' :
I don’t know much but I know this for curtain
And that is the sun poking its head round the curtain
Now please can we leave?
I’d like to go to bed now
It’s not just the sun that is hurting my head now
I’m not trying to say that I’m smelling of roses
But when will we tire of putting shit up our noses
I don’t like staying up, staying up past the sunlight
It’s meant to be fun and it just doesn’t feel right
(Chorus)Why can’t we all, all just be honest?
Admit to ourselves that everyone’s on it
From grown politicians to young adolescence
Prescribing themselves anti depressants
Now how can we start to tackle the problem?
If you don’t put your hands up and admit that your on it
Now the kids are in danger, they’re all getting hammered
From what I can see everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
I get involved but I’m not advocating
got an opinion, yea your well off the slating
so you’ve got a prescription, yea that makes it legal
finding excuses, is well over whelming with people
you go to the doctor and you need pills for sleeping
if you can convince him then I guess that’s not cheating
see you’re daughters depressed, so get her straight on the Prozac
but little do you know that she already takes crack
(Chorus X2)
Why can’t we all, all just be honest?
Admit to ourselves that everyone’s on it
From grown politicians to young adolescence
Prescribing themselves anti depressants
Now how can we start to tackle the problem?
If you don’t put your hands up and admit that you’re on it
Now the kids are in danger, they’re all getting hammered
From what I can see everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
Everyone’s at it
As a group, we discussed our reactions in response to the lyrics, this started to get us thinking about imagery and plot ideas for the music video. We created a brain storm of ideas, which can be seen below...
Lily Allen is part of the EMI record label, we felt that is would be appropriate to ask for copywright permission to use the song for our music video. This is the letter that I sent to head of EMI...
To whom it may concern,
My name is Jade Townsend and I am a student at Sussex Downs College in Lewes, East Sussex. As part of my coursework project for media studies, we are creating a music video. Due to copyright laws, we have to choose a song without an exsisting music video. My group and I have chosen the song 'Everyones At It' By Lily Allen and I am writing to you today to request for your permission to use this song for educational purposes.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could let me know as soon as possible, my contact details are listed below.
Many thanks,
Look forward to hearing from you,
Jade Townsend.
247a Arundel Road
Peacehaven
East Sussex
BN10 7JX
jade-townsend@hotmail.co.uk
Introduction to A2 coursework
This year for media A2 coursework we will be creating our own music video, with our own choice of song, with the exception if it already has a music video for it. I am really enthusiastic about starting this project and hope to produce an original and creative music video. I will start the project by planning out some ideas for the music video, choosing the song and gaining inspiration, for example; from other music videos, directors cinematography work and mise en scene element ideas from other media sources. We are working in groups of 2-4 and my fellow group members are Lucy Singh, Kelsey Heaton and Charlotte Hills. I think we will work very well as a group of four as we enjoy the same genres of music and our different qualities ans skills will add various creative and productive aspects to the video.
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